Grand Theft Auto IV

Grand Theft Auto started out as a humble platform game that allowed the player to run around a small city, shoot anybody, steal police cars, and in general be a menace to society. Now the epic series created by Rockstar has made its way to the modern generation of gaming platforms. After using the same engine from Grand Theft Auto 3 right through to Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Rockstar have decided to beef up their game by developing a new engine for the next title, Grand Theft Auto IV.

Now the GTA series allows players to delve deep into a world and story of crime. The immersion has become more fluid as players can now participate in more that one mission at a time instead of gridlocking you into a mission that prevents you from enjoying the rest of the city. If you see a store you have not been able to find in the past you can side-track off your current mission and do what you need to do, then continue on with the rest of your objectives.

GTA4 has had a beaming light of reality glaring down upon it during development. Instead of going to a gun store and being able to purchase any weapon without any license checks, players will now have to use their in-game phone to get in contact with the local arms dealer, meet him in a dark alley, and purchase your weapons of mass reduction. Reduction of the (now intelligent) police force that is.

One thing that really let down some of the previous titles in the GTA series was the lack of intelligence for the enemy AI. Whether it was a rogue old lady with a Desert Eagle or your standard police officer, they all seemed to be fooled into the cheapest tricks. With the new engine comes new AI code which promises that players will have a real challenge ahead of them if they want to lose their five-star wanted level.

Instead of driving as fast as possible in the opposite direction that the cops were heading you now have an indication of what the police are doing and where they're looking. If you rob a store and the clerk hits the alarm your police wanted level would increase depending on the seriousness of the incident. If you then shoot the clerk for his stupid mistake you will further increase your wanted level - making it more difficult for you to execute your great escape. Blue circles will appear on your mini-map that focus on the scene of the crime. If you manage to get out of the blue circle without being seen by witnesses to the crime or the police you are as good as free.

Freedom is the primary feature of the GTA series. There is nothing stopping you from stealing a plane and parachuting onto the top of a roof and sniping your target from afar. This adds a certain tactical element to the game – it is up to the player how they see the best way to approach the situation is. Do you walk into a busy plaza and place a bullet into your target’s head at close range? Or do you leave a small explosive in a hidden place then detonate it from afar and laugh to yourself as the news headlines call it 'terrorism'?

Grand Theft Auto IV looks like a very promising title and will most likely feed the hunger of the fans across all consoles. GTA4 will release later this year on the Xbox 360 and PS3; look out for a review on both in the future. In the meantime, stay posted to NZGamer.com as we bring you up-to-date information on the upcoming game.